X Type Exhaust
 

Hey guys, has anyone taken out the resanator on their x x-type.
I want to do that , but there are 2 things holding me back:

1. Will it sound good or bad?
2. Will it pass smog(im guessing not?)

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks,
Jim

Jim, lets answer the easier question first: 2) will it pass smog? Yes, it will pass smog unless your state is extremely anal about this and they require the exhaust system to be "in a factory condition". Most states will allow you to put on aftermarket stuff as long as the stuff coming out the exhaust pipe is within the limits. Now, with that being said, they will require at a minimum a catalytic converter on each header and a muffler before each tailpipe with no breaks in the piping between the engine and the tailpipe (to include cutouts that are remotely controlled, hard bolted ones are fine). Since you are only removing the resonator, this falls well within the guidelines. The resonator is nothing more than a void that allows the gas in the exhaust system to slow, reducing the pulsing gas, making more of a "solid" stream of gas, which makes the exhaust quieter (there's a bit about reverberating sound pulses canceling out the incoming pulses, but far beyond what you really need to know).

Now, for the difficult question: 1) will it sound good or bad? What is your favorite color? Is it the same as mine? The quality of sound coming out of an exhaust system is a very subjective thing. What sounds good to me may not to you. It is a gamble. Someone here may have a sound clip of their exhaust system after removing the resonator. That way you can be the judge of what is good and what isn't.

I have a 2003 S Type 3.0 and removed the resonators. To my ear, there is a slightly louder sound especially at lower rpm's. I did not get any drone at freeway speeds. I would assume that the exhaust system for the X type is somewhat similar as they have comparable motors.

hmm, im still thinking about it, because i already have 2 magnaflow mufflers installed so im just wondering if its worth making a little louder by removing the resonators.

also thermo, i live in california which is pretty harsh when it comes to emissions, so im worried that when i have to smog my car i will have a problem on my hands.

Jim, the resonator does nothing for burning/reburning the exhaust, so, what emissions you have now, you will have after removing the resonator. So, if you fail, you are already in the failed condition. Granted, if you are truely worried about it, you can get an emmisions test done just before the modification and then shortly afterwards, get another emmissions test done. I would be curious if it does change anything. The only way that it could is changing how fast the exhaust is leaving the car. But again, your mufflers have a much more drastic effect on this than your resonator.

I know that is a little bit of added expense, but it would be interesting to see how things change. Atleast that way when others ask the question, we can give them hard, proven numbers, not a "I don't think it should change anything". We did this in my truck club. We put 1 truck on the dyno and then ran like 10 intakes on the same truck back to back to back. In that case, we discovered that whether you ran the $40 e-bay special or a $400 cold air intake with all the bells and whistles, you gained the same power and torque. All 10 intakes were like within 1 hp and 1 ft-lbf torque of each other.

So, if you have a little bit of extra money, it would be an interesting test to do. That way others won't have to do the same testing later.

hmm yeah it would definitely be interesting to see. All i have done is replace the rear mufflers with magnaflow mufflers. Do you think i will still pass smog or will i have a problem?

Jim, I personally think you won't have a problem passing smog testing. it isn't that drastic of a change to the vehicle. Should be good to go. Absolute worst case, tell the muffler shop to put your old resonator in the trunk of the car and if it fails, have it put back on.

alright thanks for your help thermo!

I had the resonator removed from my 02 X-Type 3.0. I lost 10 lbs of car mass while picking up a slightly noticeable increase in exhaust growl. It will absolutely not affect emissions. The purpose of the resonator is exactly what its name implies, it causes exhaust impulses to resonate at a similar frequency as a means to cancel each as a means to quiet things down while under acceleration. By the way this week a 2005 48k 3.0 is being set in my 02. Ford Taurus exhaust manifolds hooked up to 2 1/2" diameter pipes hooking up to free flow cats, then back into one 2 1/2" pipe, continuing down to empty in to MagnaFlows mufflers. This set up is designed to lower engine temp. (pulls cats away from engine), unclog a very restrictive factory exhaust while not decreasing torque (single pipe after cats). The exhaust mod along with modified airbox with K&N filter, ported intake manifold, may yield an additinal 40 h.p and 20 lb/ft torque. 270 h.p. and 230 lb/ft torque should be well within the capabilities of the transfer case (I hope!). I'll keep yas posted of progress to results. Happy Chanukah ya all!!!

wow, thats the most powerful x type ive heard of, the other one was modded to yield 250, which i didn't really belive. Keep us posted

bfs, keep an eye on the cat temps. Moving them as far as you are from the engine, you may have a problem keeping the minimum temperature inside the cat for getting effective COx scrubbing. There is a reason why Jag put the cats where the did. If you are in an area that doesn't test the emissions, then go for it. But, if you are, don't be surprised if you are running really close to the limit.

Does sound interesting though.

Disco and Thermo, thank you for your encouragement, questions, and advice. The "X"'s heads, cams, and compression ratio are pretty potent out of the box. Jaguar officially records 231 h.p. and 207 lb./ft torque for this engine, not bad for a small normally aspirated six-banger. Wether Jaguar intentionally restriced the full potential h.p. (low emission strategy?, torque limits of transfer case?, etc.) or not, this engine definitely has a bunch of pented up energy. If one was to improve upon stock, the obvious are: air box, throttle body, intake, and exhaust. I have no idea of what could be pulled out of the ECU except to trust some owners experiences by remapping their ECU. I hope to remap the ECU one day too once I learn it makes definitive increases in performance above stock. In the same vein, I also understand the stock ECU is adaptive to new parameters (disconnecting and touching negative battery terminal to positive discards old learned parameters ushering in new). Thank you Thermo. After the collector I will keep the cats as close to the engine as possible. From there the tough part will be the cont. of 2 1/2 pipe over the rear axle without dropping the rear suspension. If it weren't for my engine to fail, neccessitating a new one, I would'nt be writing about this at all. I figured "While it's out, why not?". Be well.

wow lots of techincal info. thanks guys, but does anyone know how much a shop would charge to remove a resonator?

I wouldn't thin its too much, but then again, its jag and i've never heard where they're located, could be difficult ( which i woukldn't assum) making it more expensive or a simple, cut/unscrew making it cheap. Correction, i belive we had one memerb on here that was able to get 300hp, and i belive if not mistaken that his transfercase was able to resist the tempataion to back fire. I have no idea what year it was so can't tell you if it was a new design or a old one.

jim.logan, my muffler shop charged me a total of $45 to remove resonator and put straight pipe in its place. They even marked the resonator with a an arrow to indicate flow direction in the event I wanted to place it back into exhaust stream. From what I heard a ported intake manifold gives a noticeable difference in the wake-up dept. Exhaust mods are the compliment to this. The engine swap starts this week. I'll keep yas posted.

sorry guy but what is a (resonator ) ????

Yikes--I did not know that a transfer case was capable of backfiring.

hmmm $45 seems resonable. i think im going to get it done because i could use a little more of an aggressive tone!

MeeMo, think of the resonator like a bottle that you are blowing across the opening of. You know how it makes some noise? In this case, in stead of blowing across the opening, it is blowing into the opening and the pressure waves are then reflected inside of the chamber (aka, the resonator). Due to the size of the chamber, it tends to make a specific sound (you can play with the same size bottle and putting different amounts of water into each one, every bottle will make a different sound). The sound the resonator is designed to make is the major sound of the exhaust. What the resonator does is: 1) reflects the sound back up the exhuast, cancelling out the sound pulses coming down the pipe, and 2) makes the gas flow leaving the resonator more of a consistant speed, so, it is more of a continuous flow vice a chugging. IT is the chugging that makes the exhaust seem loud.

Cutting out resonator and welding in straight pipe is a small and basic task. On the other hand an overly burdened (excessive engine torque) transfer case on our "X" is a big deal. I'm guessing the transfer case could handle upwards of 250 lb/ft torque max. Definitely avoid drop shifting.